The White Law Group, LLC » Next Financial

Investigation Regarding Trading Practices of Sarasota, Florida Financial Advisor Clyde Thornburg

CarterPA — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:30:33 +0000

The White Law Group is investigating a possible securities fraud claim on behalf on an investor involving former NEXT Financial financial advisor Clyde Thornburg. Specifically, we are investigating whether NEXT Financial failed to supervise Thornburg’s frequent trading of Unit Investment Trust (”UITs”) investments. Based on our preliminary investigation, it appears that Thornburg was buying and selling UITs solely for the purpose of generating commissions (UITs are one of the highest commission products offered by broker-dealers).

According to his FINRA Broker Report, Clyde Thornburg has worked as a registered representative in Sarasota, Florida at NEXT Financial, Woodbury Financial Services, and SII Investments.

If you have any information that may assist The White Law Group in its investigation, please contact our Boca Raton, Florida office at 561-961-5411.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida. With over 30 years of securities law experience, including experience working at FINRA (f/k/a the NASD) and the SEC, The White Law Group has the expertise to help investors defrauded in securities, investment and financial business transactions. For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

Vincent Joseph Farrugia, Jr. of Lawrenceville , Georgia fined and censured by FINRA for securities fraud violations.

CarterPA — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:27:59 +0000

FINRA recently announced that Vincent Joseph Farrugia, Jr. of Lawrenceville , Georgia (formerly a financial advisor with Next Financial Group, Inc.) has been fined $15,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for four months. Without admitting or denying the findings, Farrugia consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretion in effecting transactions in a customer’s account without the customer’s prior written authorization and his member firm’s prior written acceptance. The findings further stated that Farrugia made unsuitable investment recommendations to the customer to invest in penny stocks and other speculative securities without a reasonable basis, given the customer’s financial condition and investment objectives.

Prior to working as a stockbroker at Next Financial Group, Inc., Vincent Farrugia was registered as a financial advisor with Delta Equity Services, Corporation (a registered broker-dealer based in Alpharetta, Georgia) and Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC (a registered broker-dealer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to his FINRA Broker Report (CRD), FINRA’s investigation is not the first time Farrugia has been named in a claim related to securities fraud. Farrugia has also been named in at least one customer complaint. In that instance, the customer made allegations of churning and unsuitable trading (related to the purchase of penny stocks) and claimed damages of approximately $80,000.

If you have questions about investments you made with Vincent Joseph Farrugia, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. may be able to help. David A. Carter is a securities lawyer based in Boca Raton, Florida. He reviews securities fraud cases throughout the country and Georgia, including reviewing securities fraud cases in Atlanta, Marietta, Athens, Smyrna, Augusta, Macon, Columbus, Savannah, and Albany. For more information on the firm’s securities fraud practice, please visit http://www.carterpa.com. To contact the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., please call 561-750-6999 or email us at contact@carterpa.com.

FINRA Panel Bars New Jersey Broker John Mullins for Misappropriating Funds From 97-Year-Old Widow’s Charitable Foundation

CarterPA — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:14:13 +0000

On September 15, 2009, FINRA announced that a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Hearing Panel has barred John Edward Mullins a former registered representative with Morgan Stanley DW, Inc. (now known as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC) for misappropriating $11,156.47 from the charitable foundation of a 97-year old nursing home resident and widow who was his client for more that 20 years.

The panel also sanctioned Mullins’ wife, Kathleen Maria Mullins, also a former registered representative with Morgan Stanley — giving her a nine-month suspension and a $20,000 fine for borrowing $100,000 from the same client without the approval of her brokerage firm. Kathleen Mullins also made material misstatements on compliance questionnaires concerning her official role in the charitable foundation and receipt of the loan. The hearing panel is also requiring Kathleen Mullins to re-qualify by examination before she can be registered in any capacity in the securities industry.

The hearing panel noted that in early April 2006, just after the elderly widow fell ill and was under round-the-clock nursing care, John Mullins “embarked on his misuse and conversion of the foundation’s funds.” The hearing panel determined that within three months of the customer’s illness, John Mullins misappropriated $4,000 to pay for his and his wife’s vacation at the Four Seasons in London . The hearing panel also found that John Mullins misappropriated $5,500 to reduce his personal bill at Boyds of Philadelphia, an upscale Philadelphia clothing store, and $1,656.47 to buy 23 bottles of wine from Morton’s Restaurant in Atlantic City, which he stored in his personal wine locker at the steakhouse.

Unless the matter is appealed to FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council (NAC), or is called for review by the NAC, the hearing panel’s decision becomes final after 45 days.

After leaving Morgan Stanley in September 2006, and before being officially barred from the industry for securities fraud violations, John Mullins was a financial advisor with Multi-Financial Securities Corporation and Next Financial Group, Inc. According to Mullins’ FINRA Broker Report (CRD), the FINRA investigation into Mullins’ misappropriation of client funds was not the first instance that Mullins’ has been named in a claim involving securities fraud. Mullins has also been named in at least 6 customer claims related to securities fraud.

If you have questions about investments you made with John Mullins, Morgan Stanley, Multi-Financial Securities or Next Financial Group, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. may be able to help. The Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. is a South Florida securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and Chapter 7 bankruptcy law firm based in Boca Raton. David Carter is a securities attorney that reviews securities fraud cases throughout the country and Florida, including securities cases in Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and West Palm Beach. To contact the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., please call 561-750-6999, or email us at contact@carterpa.com. For more information about the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., you can also visit our website at www.carterpa.com.